Noida Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (NMRC)’s Aqua Line connecting Noida and Greater Noida is all set to resume full-fledged operations from 12th September 2020 (Saturday). This means that NMRC will run as per the time-table and schedule that was being followed for the Aqua Line before the lockdown.
Operations and Frequency:
- From 12th September 2020 (Saturday) NMRC will operate its metro train services from 6 AM till 10 PM from Monday to Saturday.
- The services on Sundays will begin from 8 AM till 10 PM.
- The trains will run at an interval of 7.5 minutes during Peak Hours (8 AM to 11 AM and 5 PM to 8 PM) and 10 minutes during Non-Peak Hours from Monday to Friday .
- Metro train services on Saturdays and Sundays will be available at an interval of 15 minutes throughout the day.
Entry/Exit at Stations:
- Only one Entry/Exit gate will be opened at the following stations: Sector – 101, Sector- 81, NSEZ, Sector-83, Sector-137, Sector-142, Sector-143, Sector – 144, Sector – 145, Sector – 146, Sector-147, Sector-148, Alpha -1, Delta – 1 and GNIDA Office.
- The stations where both Entry/Exit gates will be kept open are: Sector–51, Sector–50, Sector–76, KP-II, Pari chowk, Depot Station.
Stations falling in containment zones will be closed and trains will not stop at these stations. This information will be communicated to the public through public notices, announcements and on the NMRC website and Mobile App.
The services on the Aqua Line were resumed after almost 5 months of lockdown from 7th September 2020. The Metro services are currently running from 7 AM to 11 AM in the mornings and 5 PM to 9 PM in the evenings at an interval of 15 minutes.
The Parking facility is also available at the following 10 stations: Sector – 51, Sector –76, Sector–101, Sector- 81, Sector-137, Sector-142, KP-II, Pari Chowk, Alpha -1 and Delta – 1.
To facilitate the commuters and boost last mile connectivity, free E– Rickshaw facility is available for connectivity between Sector 51 station of NMRC’s Aqua Line and Sector 52 station of DMRC’s Blue Line. Besides this, E – Rickshaws on payment basis are also available at Sector 137 and Sector 142 metro stations.
The ridership of the Aqua Line has seen a steady increase since the first day of resuming operations from a ridership of approx. 600 passengers and by the third day the ridership crossed 1, 000 passengers.
Sanitisation of Trains and Stations:
NMRC is taking all necessary measures to ensure a safe journey for Aqua Line commuters. The NMRC trains are also fully sanitised after each trip. The stations, platform and other “contact areas” like Call buttons of lifts, AFC gates, Handle belts of Escalators & Staircases, POS machines etc. are also sanitised at regular intervals. The E- Rickshaws are also regularly sanitised after every journey.
The safety measures being taken by NMRC are enumerated below:
- Cleaning and Sanitisation of Trains and Stations:
- Intensive cleaning and sanitization of station areas and the trains as a whole will be carried out daily during night hours.
- Passengers’ contact area such as Call buttons of lifts, AFC gates, Handle belts of Escalators & Staircases, POS machines etc. at Stations will be sanitized at regular intervals.
- Passenger Screening and other Guidelines to be followed at the Stations:
- Only the passengers with face masks will be allowed.
- Every passenger will be screened by Thermal sensors.
- The limiting maximum temperature for travel permission will be 37.7 degree centigrade.
- Passengers having “Aarogya Setu” app with Green status will be allowed.
- Persons entering NMRC premises will have to apply hand sanitizer after screening.
- To ensure adequate Social distance, markings for standing the passengers have been made at 1 metre spacing at frisking zones, TOM counters and Platforms.
- Commuters should avoid touching the AFC Gates while scanning the QR tickets or Smart Cards.
- On escalators, a gap of at least one step should be maintained between two users.
- Generally, all lifts will be closed. However, in case of request for senior citizens & physically challenged passengers, lift will be made available on request.
- Digital payments will be preferred.
- Guidelines for travelling Inside the Trains:
- Passengers shall maintain adequate social distance. For this purpose, suitable markings have been made inside the coaches.
- Crowd inside the train as well as at station/platform will be monitored through CCTV from the Control Rooms. If more crowd is are observed, entry at the station will be restricted.
- Passengers will be advised to refrain from touching any surface inside the
- metro stations or trains.
Source: NMRC-Press Release | Image Credit: NMRC
